What have you done today in the Garden?

Gee... maybe all those vultures are waiting for you old SOB's

 

I've only gone round, (must say more thoroughly this time around ) and deadheaded this morning. Much needed rain?????.....noooo very light drizzle arrived about 11 and honestly I did carry on heroically for a while but finally stopped when I began to shiver in damp clothing.....see now isn't that a good example of true whimpiness .
Have to say that it didn't last long but then lunch was made. Hope to resume garden duties this afternoon

 

I weeded and deadheaded and I'm anxiously waiting for UPS to deliver my new weedeater. UPS normally doesn't come around until late afternoon. Heck, a couple times I have had stuff delivered by them after dark. If it comes early enough I can get the last of the trimming done, at least partially done.

I got the same weedeater, a Worx power share, that I already own but it's an upgraded model so, hopefully, the string advance won't wear out @ 6 years use !! I might get 6 1/2 or even 7 whole years outta this one !!

 

@Oreti thank you, Awww…what a nice thing to say. I really do enjoy the garden very much. I’m a bit slower now but I still manage and gardening keeps me movin.. important , right ? Planted a lot here in 30 years and I’m still tickin….Shrubs and trees and flowers are much better to look in summer, (or any time of year) than looking out the windows to brown hay pastures , which is what it looked like when we first moved here to our forever home. The growing zone here 8b allows a huge variety of plants more than any other zone I’ve never lived in the past. I guess you could say I found my calling late in life and the rewards are everlasting .

 

@Pacnorwest , my head is still spinning!!! You have so much land and somewhat pesky wildlife..... I'm coming over all dizzy just thinking about it!

Our gardens in general are so small compared to yours...and to be fair to quite a few other folk's from over the sea.

You are made of strong stuff that's for sure......are you sure your not really Superwoman in disguise??

I too love being out in ours and really don't mind the weather. In Winter I just wrap up warm and get out there. I don't like being out there in Thunder or strong winds though. I just hate being indoors during daylight hours.
Could I use the electric cutter and tackle the overgrown trees and shrubs..????.....gosh scary thought!!

You even drive tractors!!! ........and not only know the names of all their working parts but can even fix some too!!
I can drive but don't enjoy it so haven't done so for years now.

Nope you are truly amazing no doubt about it.

 

Continuing my garden duties today I can only add that this afternoon hubs cut the front boundary hedging while I expertly handled the brush and rake to clear up.
I also potted up another 30+ Wallflowers. I vow not to be so heavy handed again when shaking out the contents of a seed pkt!! I only wanted a few new ones to replace the old retired ones with.

 

Watering and trying to do some weeding but the ground is very dry and hard.Planted 3 pots of lilies still in their pots but had to ask hubby to dig the ground i couldn't get the fork in.

 

Yesterday didn't do much in the garden so i decided to make my Christmas puddings, i know it's early but i like them to mature, I'll put sherry in so they'll stop going mouldy sometimes.

 

Well done @Logan .........but I don't want to think that far ahead just yet, just want to concentrate on Summer and enjoy all the beautiful gardens.

 

@Oreti Thank you for all your kind words around gardening responsibilities . I have built this garden from scratch over the years and now that we , (the plants, trees, shrubs ) are mature it’s managing the garden/property one day at a time. I know this place like the back of my hand and anyone or anything that tries to infiltrate the garden in a mischievous way usually is caught one way or another. I’m sure you feel the same about your beautiful garden you have designed and built from scratch too. Gardens are from small to large and vary from one place to another. What do they say about size … it’s all relevant. Gardens can be a gift , a legacy , if is it appreciated by those who care.

Today started at 5am got the big tractor out and fueled and mowed the grass hay pasture. Then did the walk check looking for critter evidence. All clear and for once I didn’t end up creating a huge dust storm when mowing. No critters below and above ground today left dirt mounds to stir up a dust storm. I mow early when the dew is still on the grass, it helps keep the dust down. Knock on Wood.

Took down a few tree branches hanging down to low to mow under as I passed them and tossed across to the deer fence along the perimeter of the property . I’m slowly building a fence with the limbs trimmed off trees to block the deer entrance to my pastures. It’s a lot easier mowing next to the trees without being worried about getting my hat pulled off from low limbs or smacked in the face. I live next door to a wild forest of trees over 100’.

After mowing I inspected the side garden where the tiny greenhouse is located. Found new mole/mounds in a small area near a walk way. Set the mole trap and hope to see a mole in there soon. That mole is after my gladiola corms again .

Climbed on the roof to fix a security cam that recent winds had knocked a branch from a near by tree off and it landed on one of the security cam bracket breaking half off. Managed to remove the limb it was not very big and reset the cam on a new bracket if you consider pinecones a bracket. It will due til I find a new bracket around here somewhere.

Reorganized another pile of tree limbs to take to another area for blocking the deer from h over the garden fence and helping themselves to a garden salad.

 

@Logan can you share your Christmas puddings recipe with us?
I think it’s similar to mince meat pie recipe’s here in the US , a favorite here for the Holidays.
https://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/t...e-recipe/8aff98f7-8638-48b5-b7d5-b576831bef91

 

Today we had one job— clean the blueberry patch. Since last year, we have had Limnanthes. They have bloomed, died and finally dried-up.

First thing was to rake the brown Limnanthes off to one side. I began going through them and sorting out the “badies” from the Limnanthes. The object here is to shake the seeds onto the ground for next season.

The Spent Limnanthes went onto the compost bins and the badies went onto the pile that will be taken to the collection point for garden waste.

Here is the blueberry patch now:


We have been waiting for the right moment to do this. It will rain tonight, now the soil is loose and weed-free. The rainwater can soak down to the blueberry roots that hydrate the developing berries.

The next time we go to the garden we will net some of the bushes.
I am also chuffed at the result of my pruning during the winter.

 

We have the same situation here too , the clay is just baked solid , that is why I'm not planting anything else out directly into the borders.The big Lillies are always left in their refreshed pots but this year many of the Fuchsias have joined them too. I just feel a bit unkind planting anything out this year and subjecting them to the awful dryness and general soil conditions that this year's weather has caused.

 

Just a walk around today as it rained a lot during the night and more expected later.
I did quite a bit of wisteria pruning earlier in the week and there's as much to do already again.
This is the sort of growth that needs removing regularly, otherwise they take over.
These twelve shoots on the one under the kitchen window have appeared in less than a week. I broke them all off, but I need to remove the little nodules from which they were growing. If it stays dry, I might get to it later in the day.




Hard to see but long strands of about two feet in length on the top of this one.
I'll thin it out at the end of the year. I want to retain the canopy effect, but not so thick.






Not a lot of colour in the garden as we are waiting for more roses to show.

The plants I bought for these two troughs have "earned their keep."




Some clematis and giant lilies.















This hydrangea is doing well. The lawn has pretty much recovered.

 

Riley—Lovely garden. Everything looks better after a rain.